What does your Sunshine Coast business invoices say to your customers?
Fiona McKinlay • July 25, 2018
Do you know how to create a clear, understandable, efficient invoice? As well as the name of your company, it needs your contact details and the date, the invoice number, a list of the items sold, their quantity and the price, the GST if necessary and whether the final figure includes GST or not.
Include your payment terms too, for example, requiring payment within 15 or 30 days of receiving a correct, valid invoice and that date clearly spelt out.
You may wish to add a code to your invoices to identify the customer, date and job number. The more prompt your invoice, the sooner you are likely to be paid.
When invoicing, it is standard practice to include: the customer’s contact details, the name of the person who placed the order and the person responsible for paying the invoice. Addressing an invoice to the right person often helps getting paid on time.
Also, where possible, include the purchase order (PO) number and contract agreement dates as a useful reference.
Payment options
Standard payment options are direct deposit, credit card, EFTPOS or cash. So you should detail your direct banking details: the BSB number, bank account number, bank account name and the name and branch of the bank and reference to be included in the transaction to identify their payment.
You may consider automating your invoices for speed and efficiency and accuracy. That helps you spot incorrect and duplicate invoices before they are sent out.
How long should invoices be kept?
By law, printed or electronic business records must be kept for at least five years, and of course they are the basis of your Business Activity Statement (BAS), income tax return and other tax obligations as well as financial and cash flow, reporting and overviews, inventory and stock control and generally keeping up to date with your accounts.
Stay in touch with clients — to make sure they understand your terms and conditions and as a courtesy to show you care and there are no problems or issues.
Need any help?
And remember, our bookkeepers in Sunshine Coast are always here to provide a professional and affordable complete service for you with tailor-made solutions, so that your books are always compliant, up to date and on time.
And then there are employee payment summaries and the summary of income and expenses in a profit and loss statement, the record of debtors and creditors, asset purchases and expenditure on improvements, depreciation expense claims and capital gains tax, income tax returns and yearly reports, returns for PAYG withholding, fringe benefits tax (FBT), Goods and Services Tax (GST), and the taxable payments reporting system, meeting superannuation requirements… the list goes on and on.
With so many great software options including XERO, MYOB and Reckon. It’s vital for Balanced Bookkeeping and Business Solutions to be on top of them all. Our expert team can help tailor fit any software your business needs. We proudly keep the Sunshine Coast on top of their accounts. Ask us how we can help you today.
Balanced Bookkeeping and Business Solutions is a local Sunshine Coast company that provides a complete bookkeeping service and solutions for small to medium businesses and can cope easily with both the ATO and ACNC, so that you can pursue the far more rewarding and philanthropic business of fund-raising and distributing to the deserving foundation or trust of your choice.
Balanced Bookkeeping and Business Solutions is a local, Sunshine Coast business that provides a complete bookkeeping service and solutions for small to medium businesses. The principal of Balanced Bookkeeping and Business Solutions has worked in the accounting industry for over 20 years and is a qualified accountant and registered BAS agent, which means that you can discuss the pros and cons of casual and full time and part time employment, knowing that you will receive practical, constructive, valuable advice.
So, what is Fringe Benefits Tax? Simply put, it’s an extra tax that you cover for your employee that is for the benefit of the employee in lieu of paying them more money. The tax is calculated on the value of what is being used for FBT.
This is only a new initiative as we mention that came into effect as of the 1st of July 2018, so there are still a lot of questions to be answered. This is why a number of clients we serve on the Sunshine Coast have been coming to us at Balanced Bookkeeping and Business Solutions to see their options.